Today was a usual day for Mark with all the therapies hour after hour. He did well and then spent the early evening enjoying milkshakes and Wii trivia with the other patients and family on the floor. He did very well because as many of you know, he has always had a head full of useless information and that has not changed.
We did have one event today that was away from the hospital. Two of the wives of patients on our floor were invited to appear as guests on the local 98 Rock morning "The Buckethead Show" here in Tampa. These two remarkable young women have become like family to Mark, Jess and I. They live here at the Fisher House with us and one is the mother of little AJ whom I have written about. We are very proud of the wonderful job they did this morning and you can listen to it at the link below. Be sure to listen to the whole interview, it's definitely worth it. Just click on the podcast under the heading "These are Some Amazing Ladies". . . and they are!
http://buckethead.98rock.com/cc-common/podcast.html
RyAnne and Ivonne we are very proud of you!!!!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Today was swim day! Mark had his first pool therapy and evaluation. The therapist felt he would benefit greatly from the pool therapy and resistance so he is now scheduled for two days a week!
They put him in the water with a lift and at first he was hesitant because he thought he had to hold on just with this arms. When he realized the lift had hooks that held his legs for balance he was all for it. One, two, three and he was out of the wheelchair and in the water. It's a very warm pool, about 95 degrees, and he was held by the therapist. His PT was also in the pool this time, but won't be hereafter. They had him floating and stretching and using his arms and shoulders like he hadn't before. It was wonderful. Eventually, he will use a belt to keep him afloat and weights in his hands and on his ankles. He really liked this a lot. When he got back upstairs to his room, he told the nurse he had "back paddled" two laps!
Earlier this morning, Mark had a dentist appointment and they fixed the teeth that were chipped in the accident. They look wonderful and his beautiful smile is even more so. Fortunately, there was not too much damage to his teeth, but they are making him a bite guard to wear at night.
There was another remarkable event on our floor as well today. One of the Marines who had suffered a stroke after being shot in Iraq spoke for the first time today. He has been making noises and he has been responding nicely to questions without actually answering for the last several weeks, but today he actually started talking. It was very exciting for everyone and the staff, other parents, and wives were all crying. When Mark went into his room to talk to him, he said "Hey JT I hear you're talking!" JT (who we believe is blind) said "Hey Mark." It was great. His mom and I have been doing things together with the boys and it was nice that he knew who Mark was.
As wonderful as it was, there is a bittersweet side to the joy. Four other young men on our floor are not out of their comas and have not spoken. Two have been in semi-comas for over a year and their beautiful young wives were torn at the news. Even though they were happy for John and his family, this news was hard for them when there has been so little change for their husbands. Please keep all the young men of Tampa Poly Trauma in your prayers. They are an amazing group who have been through so much.
Monday, April 28, 2008
The weekend was fun with Peter visiting. We had a lot of laughs and shared some time with several other families here. Unfortunately, he leaves tomorrow. We enjoyed a visit with my cousin and her husband on Sunday so they were able to meet Jess and visit with Peter too.
Mark had a good day with his therapies again today. He stood again for about 10 minute at the standing frame and his legs were very straight. Tomorrow they are going to put him in the pool for therapy. He has now added an additional PT session on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings but those are just for stretching on his belly with heating pads on his back and legs for now. That helps stretch the legs for the afternoon therapy and it is working well.
There is nothing else to report right now, but we appreciate everyone who reads the blog and keeps Mark in their prayers.
Friday, April 25,2008
Mark started the day at the dentist office. Now that he is in good shape they are going to repair his chipped teeth and then give them a good cleaning. His front teeth were chipped in the crash, so they will be bonding them.
He had a wonderful day in therapy. He was stretched out on his belly and then he went into a high kneel. After that, they put him in the standing frame and he was amazing! He stood as straight as I have ever seen him with just a strap across his bottom. He was standing straight with no other support because his trunk has gotten so much stronger. He was complaining of pain in the knees, but he managed to have an arm wrestling match at the same time with one of the guy therapists. I think the distraction helped quite a bit.
He is looking forward to tomorrow when Peter will come for a long weekend visit. We have an outing to the museum planned so it should be fun.
Thursday, April 24,2008
Mark started the day with an interesting therapy -- kickball! The recreational, occupational and physical therapists all got together and arranged an outing to the park for the guys. They had a ball field reserved and they all played kickball and had a picnic lunch. Mark was the pitcher for his team and when it was his turn to be up, they remove the foot rest on the wheelchair and he kicked the ball. Then one of the therapists rolls him around the bases. He had a triple!
They all had a great time from what we heard. Jess and I opted to have a girls day and went to the fancy mall here in Tampa and out to lunch. That was great fun also.
Tonight Jess and I took a turn and made dinner for our group of friends, so we made an Italian stir fry which Mark enjoyed a lot more than hospital food. Some of us here have grown quite close and so we often have dinner together. One of the fellas grandmother has been visiting and she has made dinner several nights here, taking all of us under her wing. She enjoyed sitting down tonight as well as one of the dads who came to send his wife home for a few days. Fortunately, the long term group here gets along well and we enjoy each other's company. All our boys are in Mark's unit so we have a bond. It's amazing how you turn to each other and become friends quickly under the circumstances. I believe I've mentioned "our" baby, AJ, in previous blogs. He is here with his mom and his dad is one of the patients here. He is now seven months old and is every one's therapy, including the doctors and nurses! He is the happiest little guy with the biggest blue eyes and chubby cheeks. I am delighted that I am one of his favorites. Mark has nicknamed him the unit "commander". These are truly remarkable women here and I am proud to be friends with them.
Monday, April 21, 2008
The photos of Mark and Mark and the Brennans (notice the discreet covering of a dreaded logo) were taken at the picnic.
Sunday we girls had a day at the Sponge Docks in Tarpon Springs and the guys kept Mark busy. They decided to roll him down the street for lunch at Panera and he kept them amused with stories of Iraq and Italy.
Today it was back to business. Rich and the Brennans had to leave, but they were able to witness Mark accepting hand made quilts from a church quilting group who drove about 3 hours to get to the hospital. They asked Mark to accept the quilts on behalf of all the guys which he did very willingly.
Physical therapy today was very productive and his legs are stretching nicely. When we had to put the casts back on tonight, it was so easy his nurse and I were delighted.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Mark had another full day of therapy. They have decided to add an additional hour of physical therapy each day starting next week. They will probably take him about 9 a.m. and bring him to therapy and keep him on his belly for about half an hour with heating pads on his legs and back. This seems to work extremely well for stretching his muscles and makes the therapy easier and more productive. He will then have his regular session each afternoon.
Today, he was sitting up and working with the occupational therapists and an electronic programmed metronome. He and the therapist had earphones on and are hooked up to a computer. When he hears a certain bell he extends his hands to reach the therapist's hands and a sensor which records whether he is on time, late or early with his response. He did very well with the exercises. He has to use all his muscles to do this. Like I have said before, it is amazing how we take these simple tasks for granted, but this exercise took a great deal out of him. He has to remain upright and move both arms at the same time as well as concentrate on the sounds he hears in the earphones. It was fascinating to watch. They are going to continue with this therapy and record the improvement he makes.
He also made a milestone step by using a self propelled wheelchair. He will be slowly transferred from the heavy duty "Hummer" wheelchair he is currently in to a sleek "sports car" version. The new chair has been modified with a special padded, curved back which makes him sit upright more on his own and will build back and neck muscles. He will have to learn to propel the chair himself. Currently it is awkward because his left arm is not as strong as the right and he tends not to slow down the right arm enough to move the chair evenly. Even so, his attempts today were far superior than any of the previous practices with this chair. They are going to start using it next week for several mornings and then use the old chair in the afternoons as he starts to get tired.
They are also hoping to clear him for pool therapy next week as well. This will help him with building his leg muscles by using the water for resistance. He's looking forward to that quite a bit.
We had a very productive day and are looking forward to tomorrow and the weekend when Rich and our friends Carolyn and Neil will be here with us from Cleveland. The Family Support Group has their annual picnic planned for Saturday and we are all going to attend.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
After a quiet, cool Sunday where we made soup and had dinner with some of our friends from Fisher House, Monday was back to business.
Mark had his usual therapies of speech, occupational, and vision this morning before lunch. Physical therapy was after a nap this afternoon. Unfortunately, his legs were very stiff and although they did range of motion exercises, they were not able to straighten them as much as they had last week. Just a couple of days without intensive therapy puts you back a bit.
Today was a recreational day outing to the Big Cat Rescue park here in Tampa. Mark has been looking forward to doing this. The rescue group saves wild tigers, lions, and other exotic cats from homes and businesses who have not taken care of the animals and rehabilitates them. (Hummm, sound familiar?) The patients get special treatment and a special tour which is not usually given to the public. When he was told they would be able to see the workers feed the tigers, Mark quipped "I hope it's not Sigfried or Roy!" As you can tell, the smart-ass sense of humor has remained intact.
They had a good time and it was a wonderful cool day which means the cats are more active. They were taken to lunch at Smoky Bones and Mark had ribs which are one of his favorites. Tonight dinner was brought to the hospital by an Army colonel who is based here in the area. She delivered home made ziti and sauce with meatballs and sausage, salad, rolls, and cookies for dessert. Mark had another huge meal before the volunteers from St. Mark's Catholic Church showed up with cake, ice cream and root beer for floats. Root beer floats are another big favorite of our favorite patient, so he had one of those too. Needless to say he was ready for bed early since tomorrow is another work day.
Satruday, April 12, 2008
Last Sunday I wrote about Mark meeting the LSU cheerleaders. They came here as guests of the Air Force and were joined by one of the Air Force bands. Mark was interviewed by the AF reporter who accompanied the group. You can read the story at:
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123093400&page=4
Be sure to scroll through the photos accompanying the story! We also know and love others featured in the photos.
Today after physical therapy, Mark and Jess went with the recreational therapist to the Scottish Highland Games in Dunedin. Mark enjoyed it tremendously. All those bagpipes!! I went in the other direction and met an old friend and took in an arts and crafts festival in Tarpon Springs. The weather was warm and sunny so we all had a good time.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Yesterday marked month five since Mark's accident and three months since we have been here. It seems so strange, but when I went home last time, that felt like the hotel and not the norm. As Mark says, that means we have been at this too long. Unfortunately, there's a long way to go yet. They have now extended our stay until mid-June and that, too, is a marshmallow date according to the doctor.
They are now referring to Mark as their "poster boy" for rehab. This unit has a number of ambulatory patients who come here for evaluation since there are a lot of closed head brain injuries that go undetected. There are also several patients who are semi-comatose and not at the rehab stage. Which leaves Mark as the current star pupil. And, he never misses an opportunity to bring up the fact!
His therapies are very varied. He does PT, of course, but also does things like going to Wal-Mart today with speech therapy to practice buying things like a new wallet and shampoo. Then there's occupational therapy which involves things like cutting tomatoes at a cookout. The recreational therapists involve the patients in games and trivia contests to foster socialization. They really try to cover all the areas of everyday life.
We had a visit today from our cousin Alison and she brought cards made by her students. We sat outside and read them with pleasure. They were so funny. We had another bunch earlier in the week from Aunt Barby's class and enjoyed those as well. It is so much fun to read what the kids have to say and they are all very touching.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Today was rainy, so the three of us spent a quiet day. One of the ladies at the Fisher House organized a dinner for all the guys on the PolyTrauma Unit and several of the other husbands of women staying here. We cooked a couple of hams, as well as the rest of the "fixings". We literally carted it up to the hospital and set the dinner up in the day room. It was fun for the patients, family and nurses. The guys then had a visit from the LSU women's basketball team cheerleaders. Their team is playing tonight in the semi-final NCAA championship here in Tampa. They were adorable and when then heard Mark was an OSU fan they took a picture with him that they say they will put on their website.
Yesterday was beautiful and Mark attended the St. Petersburg Grand Prix. The patients were invited by Sam Schmidt to his "Day at the Races". He is a former Indy car driver who was paralyzed in a crash and has a foundation. They invite veterans and other paralysis patients to a special party to watch the grand prix races around the country. Mark went with his nurse Victor and they had a "guys day out". Victor is a former Air Force Major as well as a nurse and he and Mark had a really good time.
Of course, that made our boy a little sleepy this morning, but he did wake up in time to attend church here at the chapel. He has become friends with the Catholic chaplain and the lay ministers because they deliver communion to him every day. Frankly, I am grateful that he still has such a strong faith and that it helps him through all of this.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The last several days have been very full. Peter and Debbie were here through Monday and we had a wonderful weekend.
Monday Mark started PT early in the morning and was put into the walking harness. He walked about 10 feet. The harness is suspended from the ceiling via a hoist. He walks without his full body weight on his feet. He did very well. Later that day he did mat work where he sat for 30 minutes and then was on his belly and on all fours.
Today he had another session with the hoist/harness and walked 10 feet holding the parallel bars four times with short breaks in between. Each time he would make it to the end of the 10 foot walk, we would hoist him off his feet and push him back to the start. He said he felt like Peter Pan. Later this afternoon, he had a second PT/OT session and was able to stand at a standing frame for 30 minutes which was his best effort to date. His legs were very straight and he was using his left hand/arm to do tasks with the OT at the same time.
Of course, between these sessions, he had speech, rec therapy, and a psychologist appointment. All these therapies are addressing his cognitive skills and his short term memory which is still very weak. He does seem to remember things that are important to him, but not the small every day things like what he just ate. (Of course, he says most of the hospital food is best forgotten.) He was ready for bed early tonight because he was exhausted. He did not sleep well last night because he was in another room for the night and it was unfamiliar. They are installing overhead lifts in every room to hoist the patients in and out of the beds. It is a much better system than the portable lifts they have been using.